


An Unexpected Reacquaintance

by filmFreak1



Series: The Christenfield Saga [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, ChristenField, Eventual Romance, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Post-Save Arcadia Bay Ending, Sexual Content, Skinny Dipping, Truth or Dare, Years Later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2019-10-23 18:35:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17688710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filmFreak1/pseuds/filmFreak1
Summary: It has been several years since Max Caulfield saved Arcadia Bay. During a bad night out on the road, she runs into a familiar face in an unexpected place. Over the next two days, they become friends, and perhaps more, as they learn how each other's lives have changed since Blackwell.





	1. Car Troubles

The sun had gone down hours ago, but Max still had a couple more to go before getting home. She was irritated that the wedding and reception had gone much longer than planned. At least they had paid well and even put her up in a hotel the night before so she wouldn't have to drive the entire eight hour round trip in one day.

Her thoughts about the events from earlier that day were interrupted when she heard and felt a thump and a vibration, followed by a loud flapping noise coming from the rear of her car.

She knew immediately what had happened. "No, no, no, NO!" she said aloud (talking to herself was not unusual on road trips such as these). "Are you shitting me? I just got this thing out of the shop!"

As the flapping noise continued, she looked ahead desperately, seeing where she might be able to pull over. She saw one building up ahead with its parking lot lights still on, just off the next exit ramp. She took the exit, intending to park there just long enough to look up a towing service on her phone, or at least to get an Uber ride somewhere to stay for the night.

As she pulled into the lot, she noticed that the building appeared to be a bar or tavern of some sort. As there were only two other vehicles in the lot, she guessed that it was in the process of closing for the night. Stepping out of her car, she went around to the other side. Sure enough, her rear passenger side tire had been punctured and was now as flat as a pancake.

Max sighed and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She was startled to see it wasn't on; she pressed and held the power button, but nothing happened. Thinking back, she realized she hadn't charged it since morning the day before, the day she had left Seattle. Meaning that, so far, it had been unplugged for over a day and a half, during which time she had used it heavily for texting and work-related purposes.

_How did I forget to charge it so long?_ Max chided herself.  _Guess I'll have to plug it into the car charger and wait a bit._ Getting back into the car, she opened the console and felt around.

The charger wasn't there.

She proceeded to check under the seats, in the trunk, and in her luggage, but the charger wasn't there either. She slowly realized what had happened. Her car had been in the shop for repairs for a couple days prior to the trip, during which time she had driven her mom's car. She had remembered to take the charger out of her own car before leaving it with the mechanic...but had forgotten to replace it once she had gotten the car back. In desperation, she went back into the trunk of her car and checked the spare tire, but of course it hadn't been aired since...ever.

_How could I be so STUPID!_   _Nice going, Max. You're now stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night._ As she saw it, her options were limited to the following: 1) Sleep in the car and wait until morning to try to get help, 2) walk back out to the freeway and hitch a ride to the closest gas station or motel, or 3) knock on the door of the presumably closed bar and see if she could get help there. None of the three options were the least bit desirable.

A moment later, she stepped out of her car again and walked across the parking lot to the bar. Swallowing nervously, she rapped her knuckles three times on the front door. She could tell the light was on inside, but she couldn't see anything through the door's frosted glass. After fifteen seconds with no response, she knocked again.

The light inside was blocked by a shadow that now filled the frosted glass window. She stepped back from the door.

"I told you  _pendejos_ we're closed for the night!" The door flew open, and the parking lot lights revealed an angry-looking barrel-chested man dressed in a tight black t-shirt and black jeans—probably a bouncer. He had a shaved head and dark goatee and stood at least a foot taller than Max, who was deciding at this very moment that she might have just made the worst mistake of her life.

The man looked around for a moment before looking at Max with more surprise than anger; clearly he had been prepared to confront a larger adversary than one woman who was—at most—half his size.

"What the hell do you want, señorita?" he asked.

"P-please," Max stammered. "My car got a...got a flat. I need to make a c-call."

"So? Do you not have a phone or something?"

"It ran out of charge...I forgot my charger. And I really have to use the restroom." The last part was not a lie; she had realized this as she was walking up to the door.

The man shook his head. "No can do, señorita, the bar is closed for the night."

"Please!" begged Max. "I can't go anywhere right now, I can't call anyone, I just need to...!"

"Oh my god, Pablo!" said another voice, this one female, from inside the bar. "Don't be an asshole! Just let her in!"

The man—Max surmised that this was Pablo—glanced over his shoulder in irritation, then back at Max. "Fine. But don't think I haven't got my eye on you, señorita. Restroom is to your left at the bar."

In her rush to the restroom, Max barely caught a glimpse of the one other person—the one who had told Pablo to let her in—in the bar. She was behind the bar with her back—which had long blonde hair falling down it—to Max, restocking some of the inventory for the night. She wore blue jeans and a red and black plaid flannel shirt.

A moment later, Max stepped out of the women's room feeling very relieved. The chairs had all been placed upside down on the tables, as had the stools at the bar. Pablo was standing in front of the bar staring intently at her with crossed arms. The blonde woman was now wiping down the counter but was turned at such an angle as to prevent Max from seeing her face.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" said Max finally. "I've been having a really bad night, and I need to call a tow truck, or at least an Uber to get to a motel. Can I use your phone, or a charger for mine if you have one?"

The blonde now turned around, and she and Max looked at each other.

"Max? Max Caulfield? Is that you?"

"Holy shit...Taylor?"

Pablo looked at Taylor and gestured toward Max. " _¿Conoces a ésta chica?_ "

Taylor nodded slowly. "Yeah. We were in the same class together in high school. How have you been?"

"I've been fine," said Max, who was simultaneously stunned and relieved at finding a familiar face in the middle of nowhere. "What about you?"

"Things could be better, but they could also be worse," replied the blonde in a flat tone of voice. "What type of phone do you use?"

Max held out her phone, and Taylor nodded. Reaching into a drawer behind the bar, she pulled out a charger. "You can use this one."

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much!" replied Max, taking the charger and plugging into a nearby outlet. "Do either of you know a good towing service that operates at this time of night?"

"Honestly?" replied Pablo. "You'd be better off leaving your car overnight and waiting until morning. The only 24/7 tow truck I know of is an hour's drive from here, and no one who can fix your car is going to be open right now."

Max sighed. "Is there a cheap motel nearby I can stay at?"

"There's a Super 8 a few miles from here," replied Pablo. "Tay, do you think you could give her a ride? It might be a little faster than waiting for the Uber."

Taylor hesitated for a moment. "Sure."

"Great," said Pablo, putting on his leather jacket. "Are you good here?"

"Yeah, I'll lock up. Say hi to Steve for me," said Taylor.

"Sure thing. _Buenas noches._ " Pablo looked at Max. "It was, um, nice to meet you. Sorry about all the shit earlier."

A few minutes later, Taylor had locked up the bar and Max had put her luggage into the trunk of Taylor's car—she had no intention of leaving it unattended even for one night. Thankfully Taylor had not objected.

Max buckled her seatbelt. Taylor started to insert the key into the ignition, then paused and removed it.

"Max...you...you could stay at my place for tonight if you want. It's only a few minutes from here."

Max was taken aback by this offer. "Are...are you sure? I don't want to impose..."

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll admit my place is a bit cramped, but we'll deal."

Max smiled. "Well...okay then. Sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this story rattling around in my head for a while now...the idea of two acquaintances from LIS meeting years later. I plan to go into more detail in later chapters about how they have changed since Blackwell and what all has transpired. Taylor is a rather minor character in the game, but I think you may understand my reasons for choosing her as the other character of this story once you read further.


	2. Nighttime Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During her night in Taylor's apartment, Max encounters a scary situation.

Max looked around the apartment from where she sat on the couch. Next to her rested a set of blankets and pillows Taylor had provided for her guest. A small brown coffee table rested in front of the couch. Max's luggage all sat in one corner of the living room next to a bookshelf. Max noted that many of the books in Taylor's collection pertained to photography and modeling.

Taylor's apartment had one bedroom and one bathroom, and was probably around five or six hundred square feet in size. In truth, this didn't seem that small to Max, who had been living in a tiny studio apartment since graduating from college; she guessed that the cost of living was probably much lower here than in Seattle.

"I hope Pablo didn't scare you too much," said Taylor, drying her hair with a towel as she walked in. She had changed out of her flannel shirt and jeans and was now wearing a gray cotton night shirt that came down to a few inches above her knees, revealing long tan legs; Max herself had already changed into her own sleeping clothes consisting of a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"I'll admit that he did scare me at first," replied Max.

"He's rough on the surface, but not a bad guy once you get to know him. Very protective of me and the other employees at the bar. He had to deal with some bikers earlier tonight that had just a little too much to drink and wouldn't leave at first when they were told to. One threw his glass against the wall."

"Jesus, that sounds scary."

"It's not the first time. They're regulars. Chances are, they'll be back later this week acting like none of it happened."

"Couldn't you ban them?"

Taylor shrugged. "They usually behave themselves. They always buy a lot of drinks when they're there and tip well. Besides, the leader is the sheriff's cousin, and we've found that laws and regulations have tended to not be enforced too strictly ever since they've been coming there."

Taylor walked toward the kitchen, paused, turned around. "I'm going to have a nightcap before going to bed. Want one?"

"Um, sure," replied Max. "What do you have?"

"Nothing fancy. Cheap red wine and Yuengling beer. I could also mix you up a rum and coke or a margarita."

"I'll have a glass of red wine, please."

Taylor came back out with a wine glass in each hand and set them on the coffee table.

"Taylor," began Max. "I've been meaning to ask...I remember you telling me about your mom back at Blackwell...said she had a back operation and such. How is she doing these days?"

Taylor's smile dropped. "It gave her some relief, but it didn't last very long. Her condition got worse and worse...I dropped out of college, moved back home, and took a job to support her. She eventually died. I moved out here not long afterward."

Max went red. "T-Taylor...I am so sorry...I didn't mean to..."

Taylor waved her off. "It was a couple years ago. Don't worry about it." She took a sip of her wine, and her smile reappeared. "Anyway, enough about me. I saw the stuff you brought with you. You're still doing the photography thing, huh?"

Max nodded proudly. "I started my own company. Blue Morpho Seattle Photography, LLC."

"Oh, wow. Is that why you were traveling tonight?"

"I had a gig taking photos at a wedding. I also do pregnancy announcements, family pictures, you name it."

"I remember you were more into the artistic side at Blackwell. Do you still pursue that much?"

"Yeah. I've had stuff displayed in local shops. I mainly do the weddings and other stuff for the money."

"Well, look at you living the dream—oops." While gesturing, Taylor had accidentally sloshed some of her wine onto herself. She giggled.

A short while later, after draining her glass, Taylor stood up. "Well, it's been good visiting with you, Max, but I think I'd better turn in for the night." She pointed toward the bedroom. "You'll have to go through my bedroom to get to the bathroom, so I'll leave my door open...just try to be quiet. Help yourself to the fridge if you want anything."

"Okay. Good night, Taylor. And thanks again for letting me stay here."

* * *

Max woke up in the middle of the night. This didn't happen most nights, but it wasn't unusual either. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Sitting up, she shivered as her blanket fell off; Taylor kept the temperature pretty low in the apartment. She looked for her phone before remembering she had left it charging at the wall to her left. Hugging herself for warmth, she walked over, being careful to do so quietly, and checked it. She was pleased to see it had now charged to 100%; she also saw that it was a little past two in the morning.

Realizing she was thirsty, she walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. She opened a cabinet, took out a glass, filled it in the sink. She lifted and started to take a sip.

That's when she heard a strange noise.

It sounded like heavy, fast breathing—hyperventilating. Max realized it was coming from Taylor's room. Setting the glass down, she walked quickly out of the kitchen and into the bedroom.

Approaching Taylor's bed and peering down, Max noticed a few things about the blonde woman, revealed by the dim light coming from the kitchen. First, Taylor had kicked off the covers despite how cold the apartment was and the fact that she was wearing only a simple cotton nightshirt which had now hiked up several inches. Second, she was sweating profusely. Third and most importantly, she was on her back and her eyes were wide open in terror as she hyperventilated.

"Oh, my god! Taylor!" Max ran out the room and returned a moment later with her phone. Unlocking it, she started dialing 911.

"Don't!" gasped Taylor, who was still hyperventilating. Max paused.

Taylor turned and look at her. "Don't call...them...please."

Max hesitated. "What's wrong?!"

"I'm...I'm having an...anxiety attack!"

Another moment of hesitation. Then Max nodded and canceled the call. She set the phone down on the bedside table. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just stay...here with me...please...just for a little while." Taylor rasped out the words between breaths.

Max hesitated. "Do you...want me to get in next to you? I don't mind."

"Sure."

Slowly, carefully, Max got into the bed next to Taylor, on the blonde's left side. Almost immediately, the blonde woman reached over and gripped left Max's arm, pulling it toward herself. Max turned on her side so that she was facing Taylor and settled into an embrace, resting her arm on the other woman's stomach. Her head rested against Taylor's shoulder, and she felt her right leg touching the blonde's left one.

"Is this okay?" asked Max.

"Yeah," gasped Taylor. In spite of how sweaty the blonde was, Max was grateful for the warmth.

After what seemed an eternity, Taylor's breathing finally subsided. A few minutes later she shrugged off Max's embrace, sat up and turned on the lamp on her bedside table. She tugged her nightshirt back down. Her hair clung to her forehead.

"Thank you, Max."

Max stood. "I turned on the light in the kitchen when I got a drink of water. Was that what...you know, caused it?"

Taylor shook her head. "I don't think so. I've been having night time anxiety attacks for a long time. Since before Blackwell even. Not usually this bad though. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"I'm just glad you're okay."

Now that Max thought about it, she recalled Taylor having once mentioned the anxiety attacks to her on the night that Max and Chloe had broken into Principal Wells' office; of course, Taylor would not have remembered telling her as it had happened during the five days that Max had erased in order to save Arcadia Bay. She referred to this time nowadays as TWTW—The Week That Wasn't—in her diary.

"Taylor...have you seen a therapist about this?"

The blonde woman smiled weakly. "Weed and alcohol are pretty much the only therapy I can afford these days on my paycheck."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Taylor shook her head again. "No. You can go back to sleep. I don't think I'll be able to tonight. And thanks again."

"You know, I'm not feeling that tired myself," said Max. As if in agreement, her stomach growled.

Taylor's eyes widened for a moment. She looked up at Max, grinning. "You hungry?"

Max blushed. "Um, maybe a little. I haven't eaten since earlier this evening...or I guess that's now yesterday, isn't it? It was at the wedding reception."

Taylor nodded. "I'm feeling a bit starved myself. There's this breakfast diner not too far from here. Not the best food out there, but it's cheap and it's open all night. What do you say?"

Max smiled. "That sounds really good right now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will mainly be a long conversation, but it will reveal details about what happened to many of the other LIS characters since the events of the game. Thanks again for reading!


	3. Catching Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Taylor discuss what all has happened with their classmates in the years since Blackwell.

"Your food should be out shortly," said the waitress, a short, heavyset woman in her sixties whose name tag read "Dianne," as she poured the two young women's coffees. Afterward she walked to the opposite side of the dining area to do the same for the two truckers who were the only other customers at the moment. The restaurant, while clean, had clearly not been renovated in many years.

"So," began Max, taking a sip. "Do you keep in contact much with anyone from Blackwell?"

"Courtney and I still sometimes text. That's about it. She's married and recently had a baby. Her husband's an accountant. Also, she works as Victoria's assistant at Chase Space now."

Max scoffed. "Wait, so Courtney is  _still_ doing Victoria's dirty work for her?"

Taylor smiled.  "At least now she gets paid for it. In all seriousness, though, she actually enjoys it. She has more direct access than anyone to the future heir of the Chase Space, and Victoria even put her in charge of the fashion exhibits they have there."

"Wow, that doesn't sound too bad.  I guess you and Victoria aren't in touch anymore?" asked Max.

Taylor shook her head. "I only hear bits and pieces about V through Courtney, if she decides to mention it. I don't ask. All I've heard lately is that V devotes her entire time to the Chase Space; she's certainly not going to let her inheritance go to waste. Don't know if Courtney ever says anything to her about me, and I don't really care."

"...You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," said Max.

"No, it's alright. Victoria really helped me a lot back in the day; she was there for me when my mom was going through her back pain and everything, and I'm forever grateful to her for that. But we grew apart. I guess I grew up, and she didn't; not really anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Max.

"Well, it's just...you remember that Victoria and I weren't exactly nice people back then. I won't try to disguise it...we were outright bullies." Taylor looked at Max. "I remember you experienced a little of that, and for what it's worth, I am truly sorry for it."

Max held up her hands. "Water under the bridge."

"You didn't experience the worst of it though. That honor belonged to Kate Marsh. There was no excuse for what Victoria and I and others did to her."

"It was Victoria who took the video and posted it, wasn't it?" asked Max. As she said this, she remembered with a shudder how during The Week That Wasn't, Taylor had been filming on her phone as Kate had jumped to her death.

"It's not like she did it without my encouragement," said Taylor. "At least Victoria took the video down when the shit about Nathan Prescott and Mark Jefferson came out. Some things can't be undone though." Max understood that last statement all too well.

"For what it's worth, Taylor," said Max. "Kate told me about how you apologized to her. She was actually very impressed. She's not the kind of person to hold grudges."

"I appreciate that, Max. I tried to get Victoria to apologize as well. Don't get me wrong; she definitely knew she fucked up big time, and she started acting a lot nicer to Kate afterward, but I would be surprised if Victoria would ever be willing to outright admit she was wrong. She always was obsessed with her PR; I guess I was too, even if to a lesser extent. I soon realized that she was the same asshole she had always been. And while I am responsible for my own actions, I realized that her influence had played a role in making me an asshole just like her."

Taylor took another sip. "I decided that I couldn't hang out with her anymore. She didn't take it too well when I told her I had accepted an offer to go to a different college from her. Other than the occasional like, comment, or birthday wish on Facebook—before I got off of it, I mean—we've hardly ever spoken since high school."

"You quit social media?" asked Max. She herself maintained accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, partly to promote her photography company.

"Yeah, I realized it just me more anxious and depressed than I already was, with all the awful news stories and gossip and memes; the 2016 election, the wall, Putin, the alt right, you name it. I figured if anyone was really interested in hearing from me, they could call or text. I still have the same number I did at Blackwell. What about you? Do you still keep up with anyone from Blackwell?"

Max nodded. "A lot of people over Facebook. I guess Kate and Warren are the only two I ever directly communicate with much though."

"Warren Graham? How's he doing? Are he and Brooke still together?"

"No, they broke up junior year of college. He took it pretty hard. I remember him calling me up drunk more than once after that. He's dating another woman now, someone he met in grad school. Seems pretty serious. He's studying for a PhD in Chemistry and she's studying Biology. They both plan to be professors."

Taylor nodded. "Not bad. How about Kate?"

"She works as an elementary school teacher, but also writes children's books. She's married to a man currently in seminary. I attended their wedding; they seem to be very much in love."

Taylor laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised she married a future preacher. I'll be her parents were thrilled."

"I doubt it. He's studying to be an Episcopal priest. From what Kate told me, Episcopalians are kinda like Catholics but usually more progressive. He and Kate actually marched in their city's pride parade in support of LGBTQ rights."

"Wow, that's actually pretty awesome."

"Definitely. You know, I just remembered...two of our other classmates from Blackwell—they're husband and wife now—live in the same town and go to the same church as Kate and her husband."

Taylor leaned forward. "Who?"

"Dana Ward. And I'll give you three guesses as to who she married." Pulling out her phone, Max pulled up Facebook.

"Ooh, this should be fun," said Taylor. "Let's see...I know it wasn't Logan...Trevor Yard?"

"Not bad, but they broke up after graduation. Strike one." Max accessed Dana's profile and started looking through her photos.

"Hmm. Zachary Riggins?"

"Strike two." Max found the picture she was looking for and pulled it up on her phone.

"Okay, wild guess here...Hayden Jones?"

"Strike three." Max handed the phone to Taylor.

The blonde gazed at the photo intently, appearing confused. "...Who's that?"

"Look closer. He was in our photography class. He looked a little different back then."

Taylor looked up at Max. "No."

Max smiled. "Yep."

"No way."

"I'm not lying, I swear," giggled Max.

"Dana Ward married Daniel DaCosta?! And holy shit, he looks kinda handsome!"

"She actually started dating him even before he lost weight...she never was one to judge someone based on outward appearance, but he did start getting more involved in athletic activities thanks to her. Kate told me he really bloomed in college...became a lot more outgoing. He still draws some, but his main work is as a counselor...like a therapist."

"And Dana?"

"She works as a dance instructor. Perfect career for her."

Taylor sat back. "I'm glad to hear that. She was always a better person than most of us at Blackwell."

"You mentioned Logan; I'm not actually sure what's going on with him," said Max.

"Courtney gave me some tidbits about him," said Taylor. "Last she heard, he was working for his dad's construction company and paying child support to two different women he had knocked up."

"I guess some people never learn," sighed Max.

"Not sure what happened with Zachary."

"My turn. I heard about him from David Madsen. Zachary and Juliet married, and moved back to Arcadia Bay. She writes for the local news, and he teaches history and coaches football at Blackwell. David doesn't like him that much, but then again he hardly likes anybody."

Taylor scoffed. "I guess Zach and Juliet were destined to be together, especially if their relationship survived Victoria Chase. Wait, did you say David Madsen? As in, the security guard?"

"Yeah, he's married to Joyce...Chloe's mom. I've visited them a few times since graduation."

"Oh. What's Blackwell like these days? Is Principal Wells still there?"

"No, he quit a couple years back. It ended up turning into a promotion...he's now the mayor of Arcadia Bay."

"Holy shit. I'm guessing David wasn't too happy about that."

"Actually, he voted for Wells. Wells ran on a platform of opposing the development the Prescotts were wanting to bring to the town...I guess he decided he was never going to work for the Prescotts again once he left Blackwell. Sean Prescott used all the influence he had to pour money into the incumbent's campaign. It was a tight race, but Wells won. Not sure how good he's turned out to be so far."

"I guess it makes sense," said Taylor. "He always was playing politics when he was the principal."

The conversation continued for a while as they talked about other former classmates. Ms. Grant had left Blackwell and was now teaching at a public school near Portland. Samuel Taylor was still the janitor at Blackwell. Brooke Scott was working as an engineer for an electronics company. Evan Harris still pursued photography, even getting his work displayed in the Chase Space; it didn't hurt that his husband was a lawyer who worked for them. Hayden Jones, to no one's surprise, had been thrilled about the legalization of recreational marijuana in Oregon, and was now working for a dispensary. Justin Williams, to everyone's surprise, had quit using marijuana. He and Trevor had remained best friends, and had also become good friends with Luke Parker. The three of them had gone into business together, opening a skateshop in Arcadia Bay. Luke wasn't an expert on skating, but it turned out he did know a lot about opening and operating a business. He had also married Alyssa Anderson, who had started writing science fiction novels a few years ago; like Max, she also still kept in touch with Kate.

The conversation was put briefly on hold when the food arrived.

"How was everything?" asked Dianne afterward as she cleared the dishes and utensils off the table.

"Delicious," said Max, who had ordered the Belgian waffle. Taylor simply smiled—she had ordered a ham and cheese omelette.

"Will you be wanting anything else?"

"Refills on the coffee, and the check please."

"Will that be together or separate?"

"Together," replied Max.

"I'll cover this," whispered Taylor as the waitress walked away. "You're my guest after all."

"Don't be silly," replied Max. "You gave me a free place to stay for the night. The least I can do is buy you breakfast. Please, I insist."

"Fine, but I'm covering the tip."

"Deal."

The check arrived, and they both left some cash and told Dianne to keep the change as she refilled their coffee.

Taylor looked out the window as she took a sip. "I noticed there was one name you didn't mention: Stella Hill."

Max stared into her coffee. "You heard?"

Taylor nodded slowly. "Courtney mentioned it to me."

"A lot of people were shocked."

Taylor looked at Max. "Do you know if she left a note?"

"She sent out an email to her family members and several of her friends just before she did it...Kate was one of them. From what I remember, it said something about how a childhood of poverty and abuse had created a darkness in her that she realized she was never going to escape. She also mentioned that she had been using drugs a lot, even during her Blackwell days. There was a bunch of other stuff as well, but I don't remember it all at the moment."

"Jesus. I guess you never truly know what's going on in people's lives."

Max continued staring into her coffee. "No. I guess not."

A moment of silence followed.

"So," said Max finally. "Do you have to work tonight?"

Taylor shook her head. "Today's my day off. You?"

"Good until the day after tomorrow."

"Guess we better get your car into the shop then."

They stood and walked out of the diner. Outside, the sun was starting to appear on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter, Max and Taylor's friendship is taken to the next level as they reveal secrets about their own lives. Thanks for reading!


	4. Secrets Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Taylor reveal more about their own lives.

Once they got to the bar and called the towing service, it didn't take long to get the car to the mechanic, who informed them that he would have the tire replaced by early afternoon. Rather than heading immediately back to the apartment in the meantime, Taylor elected to drive her and Max to a nearby park, one where she loved to spend much of her free time.

"It's beautiful," commented Max, as she and Taylor watched the ducks swimming around the pond in front of the park bench where they sat. Joggers went by, some with dogs, which varied in size and breed.

"It's the most peaceful place I know around here," replied Taylor. She looked away, as if to avoid eye contact. "Hey, Max...can you keep a secret?"

 _You have no idea,_ thought Max. "Of course."

"You know that thing Stella did?"

"Yeah..."

"I tried to do it myself once."

"Oh my god...when?"

"Not long my mom died. She had a bunch of meds left over...I tried to take a bunch of them at once. I chickened out and ended up calling 911. I...I remember the neighbors, the people I had grown up living next to, standing around pointing and staring as I was loaded into the ambulance."

"Jesus. Is that why you moved out here?"

Taylor nodded, still not looking at Max. "I couldn't stand the looks they gave me when I eventually came home from the hospital. The girl who couldn't finish college, the girl who failed to live up to the great things everyone expected of her, the girl who couldn't save her mother, the girl who couldn't even succeed at ending her own stupid pathetic life. I felt like a walking failure. I guess I still do, but at least out here nobody knows me. I don't really have any friends. I know I mentioned Courtney, but that's pretty much a texting-only thing. I guess there's Pablo, but he's more of a work friend than a real friend.

"They didn't tell me when I was younger that life was going to turn out like this. Death, disappointment, broken friendships, failed relationships, dreams that turned to shit. Truth be told, Max...I may have hid it well, but I was not happy to see you at first last night. Not your fault; I would have felt that way about seeing anyone from my past, anyone who reminded me of a time when my life still had possibilities. I would have been fine to drive you straight to the motel and never see you again, but for some reason I decided to invite you to my place." She looked at Max intently, tears starting to form in her eyes. "And I am so glad I did. I know how pathetic it sounds, but in the last twelve hours or so, you've become the closest thing to a friend I have had in years."

Max did not know what to say, so instead she leaned over and embraced Taylor.

"Jesus, that was intense," said Taylor, dabbing at her eyes a moment later. "Sorry for making you put up with that."

Max smiled. "No reason to be sorry. I'm glad to help, even just by listening."

"I appreciate that, Max."

"I've been wanting to ask you...I saw the books of photography and modeling on your shelf. Was that what you studied? Before you dropped out, I mean."

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. While I've focused on photography for most of my life, I guess I always wanted to pursue both sides of the camera. Don't really have the time or money these days to pursue either, but I like to go to the library sometimes and look up the latest news and developments."

"Did you ever do much modeling?"

"Here and there in college. Once or twice when I was supporting my mom as well; I really needed the extra cash."

"Really? What kind of modeling?"

"Mainly photography and art classes. I've had to be careful when it came to photographers though; most are pretty professional, but I've run into a couple who were just pervs looking to use art as an excuse to see boobs."

"Boobs...wait, you mean...?"

"Don't judge me, Max. I actually enjoyed nude modeling, and it paid better."

"What? No, I wasn't judging, I mean...I'm actually impressed."

"Have you ever done photography like that, Max?"

"Not for my regular art, but I did do work for a couple once who wanted a, uh, intimate portrait."

Taylor grinned. "Oh yeah? How did it go?"

"Not bad, actually. It was pretty awkward at first, but very professional overall. Moving lights and equipment around a lot, telling them to move their heads this way or that, that sort of thing. They loved the photos when they saw them afterward and paid well, so it was worth it."

Taylor nodded. "I have to say, Max...I admire you. It sounds like you're really living out your dreams. Maybe I should reconsider mine, dunno. Go back to school or something and get back into photography."

Max's smile faltered. She looked down at the ground. A moment of silence followed.

"...Did I say something to offend you, Max?" asked Taylor.

"What? No!"

"It's just that you suddenly went really quiet. What's on your mind?"

"It's just that..." Max hesitated. "Taylor, I haven't been very honest with you."

Taylor sat up. "Uh oh. What's going on?"

"I was thinking about what you said about you going back to school and reconsidering your dreams," Max continued. "I don't want to discourage you...but I don't want to give you false hopes either. The truth is, Taylor...my photography career hasn't been going well for a while."

"Okay," said Taylor in a neutral voice.

"I got a job after college on a marketing team for a major retailer...planning ad campaigns, taking pictures for promos, you know. I had interned with them before, so I had an in with them after college. I was making good money. Then, about a year in, the company hit difficult financial times, and it turned out that photographers with little experience weren't exactly high on their list of jobs to save. I was actually kind of relieved. I hadn't really enjoyed the job anyway, and I got a nice severance.

"I decided that this was a sign that I should strike out on my own. That was when I decided to form my Blue Morpho LLC. As I mentioned before, I would do weddings, baby announcements, family portraits, advertisement photos for startup companies, you name it, to pay the bills, and pursue my art on the side.

"But there's so much competition, Taylor, and photographers just aren't in that high of demand anymore, especially when everybody nowadays is literally carrying a camera in their pocket wherever they go. I occasionally get a nice gig, sure, but not often enough to pay the bills. The only reason I got the wedding job from yesterday was because a friend of mine was the groom's sister. I'm hoping that the clients will be happy with the results and recommend me to other clients in the future, but I'm not getting my hopes too high."

"Wait, so how are you making ends meet?" asked Taylor.

Max was now the one whose eyes were brimming with tears. "Honestly? I'm not. I've burned through my severance and most of my savings. I've had to borrow thousands of dollars from my parents to keep from going into debt. I also recently took a part time job stocking shelves to help with expenses. The store's okay, I guess. My coworkers are nice, but it's not what I wanted to do for a career.

"The lease on my studio apartment—which, being in Seattle, is like half the size of your place and probably way more expensive—is up in a couple months. If things don't turn around by then, I'm going to move back in with my parents. My manager has offered to promote me to full time at the store, and I'm seriously considering accepting and giving up my photography company. At least the full time store position would be a steady paycheck with health benefits, and I could start paying back my parents while living with them."

Max now rubbed at her eyes, and spoke with a trembling voice. "I'm sorry, Taylor...I didn't mean to lie to you...I was just ashamed."

She was interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder; Max looked up at her, tears streaming.

"Thank you for being honest, Max. But you have no reason to be ashamed."

"I...I don't understand."

"You took a chance to pursue your dreams. It may not have worked out, but at least you tried. Most people would be too scared to do that. And I include myself in that category."

"Y-you're not mad?"

Taylor shook her head. "It'd be hypocritical of me. I guess vanity is the greatest sin for both of us...always being worried about what others think of us." She looked again toward the pond. "Now that I think about it, vanity's responsible for some of of the biggest regrets I've had."

"Like what?" asked Max. "If it's okay for me to ask."

"Well, there's one in particular dating back to Blackwell. It was a couple years before you came there. I fell in love with someone...and then I ruined it."

"What was his name?"

As she continued staring in the direction of the pond, Taylor's voice was now barely louder than a whisper. "Her name was Steph Gingrich."

"Oh...oh!" The name rang a bell to Max.

"She had auburn hair, blue eyes, and a dark complexion. She loved movies, and played D&D at the picnic tables on the Blackwell campus."

"Wait, I remember Dana telling me about her once," said Max. "Didn't she also do tech work for the drama club? And I think she was a friend of Chloe and Rachel's as well."

Taylor nodded. "That would be her."

"So what happened?"

"Steph and I...we didn't exactly run in the same social circle. We met in secret for a while, but eventually...she wanted us to go public—she was always out and proud—and I didn't. I was so scared of what Victoria and the Vortex Club would think. Which I now realize was stupid...I'm not sure they would have cared at all—they didn't mind Dana dating Trevor, did they? And I would have been happy being with Steph even if they did care." Taylor sighed. "I don't know...it probably wouldn't have worked out in the end, high school romances rarely do, but it still would have been worth giving a chance, you know?"

Max nodded. "I think I know that feeling all too well myself."

The blonde glanced over at her. "Sounds like you've had some big regrets of your own. Care to share?"

"I think I might, but I'll need some time."

Taylor nodded.

As they continued sitting on the park bench, Max quietly took out her phone and took a selfie; if Taylor noticed, she didn't say anything. Max then turned toward the nearby freeway and observed the traffic for a brief while, writing down what she saw in her phone's notes app. Then she looked around the park for a while. A moment later, she had made her choice.

For the first time since The Week That Wasn't, Max Caulfield used her rewind power.

"...like you've had some regrets of your own. Care to share?" said Taylor immediately after Max stopped rewinding.

Max took a breath. "Taylor...you will never believe what I am about to tell you...so I'm going to show you first."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: How will Taylor react after Max tells her everything? Find out in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!


	5. Demonstration and Proof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max takes a big risk when she reveals her biggest secret to Taylor.

"Show me what?" asked Taylor.

Max pointed toward the freeway. "Look over there and watch the traffic."

The blonde was clearly puzzled, but did as Max asked. "Okay. What am I supposed to be seeing?"

Max handed her phone to Taylor; the notes app was still open. "As each vehicle goes by, look at it, and read what I've written down."

Taylor complied. "Okay...Walmart semi truck...white Ford sedan...two motorcycles...red minivan...Pepsi semi truck..."

A moment later, a very perplexed Taylor handed back the phone. "Okay, Max, that's pretty good. Let me guess...are they going in circles or something?"

"Hold on." Max now pointed in the direction of the pond, where a man in a black t-shirt and red shorts was jogging by with his dog, a Great Pyranees, on a leash. "In just a few seconds, that dog is going to run off, yanking the leash out of his owner's hand." Sure enough, it happened exactly as Max said; the man ran frantically after his dog, yelling for it to come back.

"Okay, you are seriously starting to freak me out," said Taylor. "How are you doing this?"

Max held up her hands. "I have a superpower."

"What, you can predict the future?"

"Not quite. I can rewind time."

Taylor scoffed. "Oh, really? How far?"

"A few minutes at most. I have another ability, though...it lets me use photographs to jump back a lot further, but only briefly. Then I have to come back to the present."

"Uh huh. Like that Ashton Kutcher movie where he can use his journals to change time?"

"Kind of, but unfortunately, I don't get all the memories from the new timeline like he did."

Taylor stifled a laugh. "I have to say, Max, this is one weird prank you're pulling here."

"I guess I shouldn't blame you for not believing me."

"Let's just say I'm going to need a little more proof than just making really good predictions."

Max thought for a moment. "Okay, I'll prove it. Stay here."

She got up and walked away from the bench until she was standing about thirty meters in front of Taylor. She looked around to make sure no one else was watching.

"Okay, Tay, I want you to watch me. And I mean  _really_ watch me. No looking away, not even a glance."

"Okay..."

After a minute or so, Max walked back over to where Taylor sat and now stood directly in front of her.

"I don't get it, what—" Taylor did not finish, as Max rewinded at that very moment. She watched Taylor's gaze shift back to where she would have been looking off in the distance at Max. Then Max stopped rewinding.

" _Jesus Christ!_ "

Max worried for a moment that she had triggered another anxiety attack in Taylor, as the blonde was now breathing hard and holding a hand over her chest.

"What the—How did...!" Taylor gestured wildly. "You were over there—then you were suddenly standing right—Holy shit!"

Max winced. "Sorry."

"I thought you said your power was time traveling, not teleporting!"

"I don't fully get how it works myself," said Max, "but usually, when I rewind, I'm not affected as far as where I'm located. Everything else will go back to where it was before, but not me. So, before I rewound, I walked back over here, and then I rewound to a point at which I had previously been standing out there."

"Oh," said Taylor. "That makes sense. Sort of." She loudly exhaled. "Okay, Max...you've convinced me. Congratulations."

Max sat back down on the bench next to her. "Are you mad?"

Taylor shook her head. "Why would I be mad? I asked for proof, and you gave it. Nearly gave me a fucking heart attack, too. How long have you had this...ability?"

Max hesitated. "...Since October 7, 2013."

Taylor processed this for a moment. "During our year together at Blackwell. Wait, why does that exact date sound familiar?"

Another moment of hesitation. "It was the day that Nathan Prescott killed Chloe Price."

"Oh man, how could I forget that? And Jefferson was arrested that very same day."

"That's the way you and everyone else remember it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Max hesitated again. "I don't mind telling you...but it's a really long story."

Taylor pulled out her phone and checked it. "We've got time."

* * *

"Shit." It was all Taylor could initially say after Max had finished detailing The Week That Wasn't.

"That sums it up pretty well," said Max.

Taylor turned toward her. "Kate Marsh really jumped off the roof of the dormitory? In front of the entire school?"

Max—who had decided to omit the part where she had witnessed Victoria and Taylor harassing Kate in the girl's shower room—nodded slowly. "I guess in the timeline where Chloe died in the restroom, she didn't feel that was her only option, since the ones responsible for what happened to her—Nathan and Jefferson—were arrested before then."

"And all that stuff about Jefferson murdering Nathan and Victoria and torturing you...?"

"All true, at least the torture part. I didn't see the bodies."

"And that's not even the worst thing you've told me...you seriously considered letting Arcadia Bay be destroyed—letting me and everyone else die?"

Again, Max nodded slowly.

"Jesus, I wouldn't have thought you to be capable of that, Max."

"I know how it sounds, but please don't judge me, Taylor. If it had been you that had gotten my powers back then, and you had to sacrifice Victoria—or your mom, or Steph—in order to save Arcadia Bay...do you really think it would have been an easy decision to make? To sit and wait while they were murdered only a few feet away, knowing that you could help them but also couldn't?"

A moment of silence followed before Taylor answered. "No. I guess not." She leaned back on the bench. "You and Chloe really were the best of friends, weren't you?"

Max hesitated. "We truly cared for one another. I even think that—by the end—we were in love."

Taylor looked up at Max. "Really?"

Max nodded. "We kissed, just before I jumped back."

Taylor's mouth fell open. "Oh, Max...I am so sorry. You've really had to live with this all these years? Have you told anyone else about that week? Anyone who still remembers?"

"There are only two people in the world who know, and they're both sitting on this bench," replied Max. She sighed. "I still have that photo, you know...the butterfly one I took that morning; I keep it hidden in a drawer in my apartment. I can't bring myself to destroy it. You have no idea how many times I have considered jumping through it all the way back to that moment, saving Chloe, and letting the town be destroyed just so I could be with her. I suppose that makes me a bad person."

Taylor shook her head slowly. "No. It makes you human." She smiled briefly. "I have to ask though: You mentioned earlier that today is the first time you've used your abilities since that week...are you sure you aren't, you know, breaking something again by using them now?"

"I wondered about that myself. I don't know if you saw, but I took a selfie not long before I first told you about my ability, as a fail-safe...just in case I have to jump back to fix it. I've changed something in the timeline, but I think minor changes are okay...not undoing someone's death or anything like that. As long as we don't see any unexpected snow or lunar eclipses or beached whales or visions of tornadoes today, I'd say we're in the clear."

Taylor nodded slowly. "Okay. Can I ask you one favor?"

"Sure."

"I know that I have no way of making you, but please don't use your rewind power...not where it affects me. Not unless you ask me first, or I ask you, or you have no other choice. And even then tell me about it afterward."

Max nodded. "Okay."

She checked her phone again. "Looks like it's time. Let's go pick up your car."

As they got back to Taylor's car, Taylor felt around in her pockets. Looking through the driver's window, she turned around.

"Max, you're not going to believe this...I locked my keys in the car."

"Seriously?"

Taylor gestured toward the window. "Yep. They're sitting right there in the seat."

"Do you have another set back at your apartment? We could call an Uber."

The blonde sighed. "I do, but the key to my apartment's on the same ring as my other keys."

"Well, shit. Guess we'll have to call a locksmith then."

"Or you could use your rewind power. Save us the expense."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Well, that didn't take long." Max picked up a large rock from nearby in the grass. "Stand back."

Two minutes later—from Max's perspective—the driver's window was once again intact, and the car alarm was no longer going off.

"...Or you could use your rewind power. Save us the expense," said Taylor once again.

"Done." Max smiled and held up Taylor's keys.

The blonde blinked, looked inside her car again to see that the keys were no longer in the seat, and then looked at Max again. "Okay, now you're just showing off. How did you do that, though? I thought you would have to stay inside the car when you rewound?"

"No, I just had to get inside long enough to get the keys. Forgot to mention...it seems that anything I'm carrying or touching usually travels back with me."

"Well, that's really convenient."

"I'd say so...otherwise my clothes wouldn't travel back with me, and I would be naked every time I rewound."

Taylor grinned. "Not sure that would be such a bad thing. Seriously though, that superpower of yours is starting to grow on me."

"Glad I could help."

* * *

When they got back to the shop, the mechanic had finished repairing the tire, and had even aired the spare. Max paid him, and she and Taylor drove separately back to the latter's apartment.

"Finished packing?" asked Taylor.

"Yeah," said Max, who had just stuffed her toiletries bag and laundry into her suitcase, which now sat in the corner alongside the bags containing her camera equipment. "Just need to load them into the car, and then I'll be ready to go."

"Sounds good. Want to have lunch first? I can prepare us some sandwiches. Or make you one for the road if you need to get back quickly."

"No, I can stay for lunch."

The sandwiches were turkey, swiss, and mayo on wheat. Max thought it to be a simple meal, but delicious all the same. The two women sat at the small dinner table eating in silence.

"Thanks for the meal," said Max afterward, picking up the first of her suitcases by its handle in one hand. She reached toward the door out of Taylor's apartment with the other.

As she started to turn the knob, she was startled when Taylor reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Withdrawing her hand from the knob, Max turned and looked at her, and was surprised to see that her eyes had gone red, as though she had been crying...or was about to.

"Taylor?" asked Max. "Are you okay?"

"Stay," replied the blonde in a shaky voice, nearly whispering.

"What?"

"Don't go. Stay another night."

"Taylor..."

"I have a couple frozen pizzas I could throw in the oven tonight...ice cream in the freezer—it's cookies and cream...drinks in the fridge...DVDs in my closet. Let's have a girls night in."

Max set the suitcase on the floor, turned and faced the blonde, smiled. "Cookies and cream, you say?"

Taylor burst out laughing, and within two seconds, had wrapped her arms around Max in a tight embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be on the safe side, I will probably take this fic up to an Mature rating starting with the next chapter. While I'm not certain how many more chapters there will be, I'd say I'm past the halfway point now. A three word hint at what's to come in the next chapter: "Truth or Dare".


	6. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the second night of Max's stay in Taylor's apartment, a party game takes unexpected turns.

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" asked Max after the embrace had ended.

"Pablo owes me a favor," replied Taylor. "I texted him earlier while you were packing...he agreed to come in early and cover for me until evening. So we can at least sleep in."

"Well, that works out then. What all did you have in mind for tonight?"

Taylor smiled. "We'll figure it out as we go."

* * *

"So what do you think?" asked Taylor as the theme music of  _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_  blasted over the end credits of the third episode they had just watched.

"Not bad," said Max. "I would definitely be interested in watching more."

"The first season is fun but definitely more low budget and cheesy. It becomes a great show during the second season...just wait til you meet Spike!"

They were seated on the couch, having watched the show on Taylor's laptop as it rested on the coffee table, which was now also populated by plates with leftover pizza crusts, bowls with spoons and the remains of melted ice cream (which had indeed been cookies and cream flavored), napkins, and, so far, two drained wine glasses.

"We can watch another episode if you like," said Taylor, who now stood and started gathering up the dishes. "But I thought might be fun if we switched to something more interactive."

"Sounds good to me," said Max. "Like a game?"

Taylor grinned. "Something like that. Want another drink?"

"Sure. Maybe one of those beers?"

"Coming right up!"

A moment later, Taylor returned from the kitchen with two bottles of Yuengling, caps removed. "So...I propose one of the all time classic party games. You've played Truth or Dare, right?"

"Umm...once. With Chloe."

"...I see. And how old were the two of you?"

"...I think like 11 and 12."

Taylor scoffed. "Let me guess, you each asked what boys you liked? Dared each other to lick the floor or something gross like that?"

"No!" Max blushed. "Maybe. Yes."

"Well, if you're up for it, I'll show you how grown ups do it. What do you say?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Can I refuse a truth or dare if I want to?"

"Hmm." Taylor considered Max's request. "Hang on a minute."

She went back to the kitchen, and Max heard her open and rummage through one of the cabinets. When she returned, she was carrying a shot glass.

"I'll make it easy for you," said Taylor, setting the shot glass on the coffee table next to the beers. "You can refuse a truth or dare, but you have to take a shot of beer."

"Just a shot?"

"Yeah. That and live with the shame."

Max smiled. "Okay. Let's play."

Taylor resumed her place on the couch. "You go first."

"Okay...truth or dare?"

"Hmm...I'll start with truth."

Max thought for a minute. "Besides Steph, who all did you ever kiss at Blackwell?"

Taylor chuckled. "Logan, Victoria, Zach, and Hayden. I didn't exactly have the best taste in people back then."

"Wait, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"You said Victoria."

"I did."

Max smiled. "Oh, I have got to hear this story."

"Let's just say, it was at a Vortex Club party and we each had a drink or two in us. I was by myself in the VIP section; everybody else was out dancing. Victoria walked in. She gave me her most seductive smile, and then sat in my lap. She was the one who kissed me, but I didn't resist either."

"Well, how was it?"

"Not as great as you would think. She smelled like booze and pot—too be fair, I probably did, too—and she made me wet."

Max's eyes shot wide open.

Taylor giggled. "Shit, that came out wrong...I should have mentioned: this was at the Blackwell pool, and she had just been swimming right before she sat in my lap. She was wearing a cute red one piece. Anyway, we were interrupted after a minute or so of making out when we heard some of the other VC members starting to head back to where we were. She immediately got up and started acting like the same old Victoria as soon as they walked in. I'm sure she remembered it—she didn't act all that weird the rest of the night—but she never brought it up again, and neither did I."

"Oh." Taylor's recounting reminded Max of the brief scene from her nightmare where she had watched Victoria make out with Chloe. She still wondered sometimes if it was just a scene her brain had manufactured entirely out of her twisted subconscious, or if it had been yet another glimpse into an alternate timeline. It wasn't something she liked to think about often.

Taylor picked up her beer and took a small sip. "My turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"I know you said that, before today, you hadn't used your powers since that...week at Blackwell. Besides anything to do with that week, when were you most seriously tempted?"

Max hesitated before answering.

"If it's too much, don't forget you can take a shot instead," said Taylor.

Max had indeed contemplated taking a shot of her beer in lieu of answering, but decided against.  _Got to get into the spirit of the game._ "It was a relationship I had in college...I really wanted to undo that whole thing."

"Oh yeah?"

"My boyfriend James...we were both in our senior year. He was my...you know, my first. And so far, my only."

"That bad, huh?"

Max shook her head. "No, that was okay...I mean, it was awkward—it was his first time, too—but that wasn't the reason. It's just that...he seemed like a really kind and compassionate person when I first met him. We were both volunteering at a soup kitchen close to the campus near the beginning of the school year. He was religious, a devout evangelical Christian. I had no problem with that, but I didn't have much desire to convert myself. He said it wasn't an issue, but after we, you know, did it...it turned out it was an issue. I think he felt guilty about having had premarital sex and was on the verge of proposing to me, so he started asking me to go to church and Bible study with him, and I did a couple times. It was interesting, I guess, but it wasn't for me. Then one day, Kate and her fiancee Thomas happened to be in town, so we met up with them for dinner."

"Thomas is the one who's now Kate's husband? The one who's studying to be an Episcopal priest?" said Taylor.

"Yeah, him."

"Let me guess: He and James didn't see eye to eye on a few things."

"That would be an understatement. James was polite enough during the dinner, thank God. The final straw came afterward when he and I were alone. He told me how he considered Thomas to be a heretic and a false teacher due to Thomas's rather liberal interpretation of the Bible and his support for LGBTQ rights. James had the nerve to say this to me, after I had told him a while back that I was bisexual! I ended it with him on the spot and cried myself to sleep that night.

"I had to block him on my phone and on Facebook when he kept trying to contact me, claiming that it was God's will that we be together. When he started following me around both on and off campus, it wasn't until I threatened to report him to the police for stalking that he finally backed off. It turns out I may not have the best taste in people either. Anyway, I came across a picture on Facebook, one that had been taken of us standing next to each other at the soup kitchen where we first met...I so badly wanted to jump through and tell him to go fuck himself."

"Damn," replied Taylor. "I would have paid a thousand bucks to see the expression on his face if you had done that."

Max smiled. "Believe me, I would have done it for free. Truth or dare?"

"Dare. And make it something good."

"Okay, let me think for a minute." She remembered that Taylor had parked her car a ways down—about thirty meters or so—from the apartment. "Hmm, something good...how about you...run down to your car and back in your underwear." Max regretted the dare as soon as it left her lips.  _Too much, Max, you've just made things really awkward._

To Max's surprise, however, Taylor stood without hesitation and pulled off her t-shirt, then unbuckled and dropped her jeans, leaving her in white socks and a matching black bra and boyshorts. She had clearly done very well at maintaining a slim figure since her Blackwell days; Max found her beauty to be breathtaking.

A moment later, they stood at the door. Taylor turned to Max and grinned. "Ready?"

"Yeah," said Max.

Taylor opened the door, and they stepped out onto the porch into the cool night air. Then, as Max watched, the blonde sprinted toward her car, dimly lit by the parking lot lights in the apartment complex.

"Whoo, that was fun!" said Taylor a moment later, exhaling heavily as she reentered the apartment. To Max's disappointment, she slipped her t-shirt and jeans back on. Then she turned back to Max. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth—no, wait, dare!" Max wasn't sure what had made her change her mind.  _Maybe I'm getting into the spirit of the game a little too much._

"Take a selfie."

"Seriously? That's your dare?"

"No, it's for jumping back in time after the dare."

"Taylor, I really don't want to abuse my powers, especially for a game of truth or dare."

"I know. It's just in case."

"Oh shit. What are you daring me to do?"

"I'm not telling you until after you take the picture. I don't want you trying to get out of it by claiming you jumped back and that it didn't work out well."

"Fine." Max took out her phone and accessed the camera app.

Taylor stepped in beside Max just as Max was preparing to take the picture. "Photo bomb!"

Max smiled, recalling a similar occurrence from the morning after she and Chloe had broken into Blackwell during The Week That Wasn't. She had not told Taylor some of the more personal details of that night.

"Photo hog!" replied Max. She took the picture then turned to Taylor.

"Okay, Tay, what's your dare?"

Taylor grinned impishly. "You ever been skinny dipping?"

Max's eyes widened in horror, and she glanced back at her bottle of Yuengling, which was still mostly full, and the shot glass sitting next to it.

"I'll do the dare with you if you take it," said Taylor, her grin broadening so that it now looked outright villainous.

Max straightened up, still apprehensive but intrigued. "Okay."

* * *

"So, I sometimes do maid service for Tommy—he's the apartment manager here," explained Taylor. "He'll have me clean apartments of residents who have left, in exchange for discounts off my rent."

It was now nearly midnight as they approached the pool, and it had gotten chilly. Max worried about how miserable the water was going to feel.

"Anyway," Taylor continued, "one time Tommy had me clean his office while he was out for the day. I found the key to the pool and had a copy made; he never even knew it was gone."

"Seems that he trusted you a little too much," said Max. "Aren't you worried about getting caught?"

Taylor shrugged. "I've done this several times now by myself, and it's never been an issue. Anyway, that's why I had you take that selfie; in case we do get caught."

They reached the pool, which was surrounded by an eight foot high wooden fence. A padlock held the gate shut; pulling a key out of her back pocket, Taylor unlocked it and they entered quietly.

The shallow end was on the same side as the door; Taylor pointed to the deep end of the pool. "Over there."

Max cocked her head at Taylor questioningly.

"The property owner had Tommy hire someone to install this big ass fence after having too many complaints about people sneaking into the pool at night—teenagers and such," said Taylor. "There was one weakness overlooked though...I've been in several apartments around here—for cleaning—and looked at the angles. I figured out that as long as we stay on that side, we shouldn't be seen by anyone who happens to look through their window, even from the second story. We just need to be quiet."

Max was somewhat relieved by this; while the lighting in the pool area created by the parking lot lights wasn't especially bright, it wasn't especially dim either..

Walking to the deep end, they faced each other. Max wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but it seemed to have gotten even chillier. She felt her heart racing, and her skin tingled all over. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach ( _Blue butterflies?_ she wondered), and she now felt a flush rising in her cheeks. A moment ago, she would have described herself as nervous, and that was still true, but now she also felt...anticipation? Excitement, even?

"Last chance to back out, Max," said Taylor, grinning. "We can go back to the apartment right now and have that shot of beer instead."

Max breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled. "Let's do this."

Turning slightly away from one another, they both slowly undid their jeans and dropped them to the ground, stepping out of them, then pulled off their t-shirts. Max herself was wearing a a pink bra and purple cotton panties, a combination which she thought to be embarrassing compared to Taylor's matching black bra and boyshorts.

As they both removed their bras, Max couldn't help but take a quick glance at Taylor's breasts.  _Oh man,_ she thought, _they look even better than I imagined—wait...when I imagining them? Wait,_ why _was I imagining them?_  As both their panties came off— _Thank God I trimmed down there recently—s_ he also sneaked a peek at the blonde's backside _._   _Okay, I won't lie, that is one fine—oh fuck, I think she caught me checking her out!_ Taylor had turned and made eye contact; Max blushed. However, whether not Taylor had indeed caught her, Max could not be certain, as the blonde said nothing, only grinned and winked. A moment later, they were both completely naked.

"Last one in's a rotten egg," said Taylor. Then, as Max watched, she ran toward the edge of the pool and dove in.  _God, that was beautiful to wa—Bad Max! Shame!_

"Brrr; it doesn't feel so bad now, but it felt like I was plunging into ice when I first jumped!" said Taylor a moment later after she came up for air. "Are you coming in, too, Max, or do I get to keep admiring the view?" The brunette was still standing naked near the edge of the pool, crossing her arms over her breasts in defense against the chilly night air.

"I'm coming," said Max. "I'm just going to take it slow."

"Don't be silly, better to just get it over with all at once!" Approaching the edge of the pool, she splashed water onto Max's legs.

Max yelped and jumped back. "Hey! Stop that!"

"Just jump! And keep your voice down!"

"Fine, you asked for it." Running forward, Max jumped over the water, hugging her knees to her chest. As would be expected with a cannonball, it caused a large splash.

"Holy fuck, that's cold!" gasped Max a few seconds later as her head broke the surface of the water.

"Volume, Maxine!"

Max dropped her voice to a hushed tone. "Sorry. And it's Max, never Maxine. And it's still cold."

Taylor laughed. "Give it a minute, okay?"

A moment later, the water had indeed become more tolerable. Eventually the two women were floating side by side on their backs. It reminded Max of the night from The Week That Wasn't when she and Chloe had infiltrated the Blackwell pool. Of course, she and Chloe had at least been wearing something.

"I can see the big dipper up there," commented Taylor.

"Same," said Max. "I wish we could kill the lights around here though; it'd be nice to see more of the stars. Still better than a lot of Seattle, I guess."

Taylor smiled. "We should go camping sometime. Bet we could see a lot more then."

"That would be awesome. I think my parents still have their old tent."

Taylor's smile faded as she contemplated the sky. "You ever look up at the sky at night and realize just how insignificant you truly are?"

Max glanced over. "Sometimes, I guess. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know...it's beautiful to look at, but it also makes me realize just how much darkness there is out there. I remember hearing that if two galaxies ever collided with each other, it would probably never happen where any two stars would ever encounter each other, because there are literally billions and trillions of miles between all of them...billions and trillions of miles of darkness. And that's how the universe will probably end...nothing but darkness."

"How's that?" asked Max.

"Just something I read once...a theory about the end of the universe called 'heat death'. It basically stated that as the universe continued to expand, eventually heat would become evenly distributed, and gas would become spread so thin that new stars couldn't form, and the old ones would eventually burn out. I didn't fully understand it. I don't know...it just makes me realize how there's no ultimate meaning to it...to any of it." She turned back to Max. "Sorry. Too dark for you?"

"What? No! I'm actually finding it fascinating."

Slowly, as the two continued floating on their backs, Max reached out and took Taylor's hand. Taylor's hand briefly tensed then relaxed and held Max's in return.

"I guess it would be most accurate to say that I have mixed feelings," continued Max. "Sometimes it makes me sad, knowing that nothing I do will matter a thousand years from now, or even a hundred. Other times, I take comfort in that, knowing that my mistakes won't matter either.

"I guess my final take on it is that you should try to enjoy what you can during the journey instead of focusing so much on the destination, and that to make it through life, you have to search for meaning even when you know there's none to be found."

Taylor considered Max's words for a moment. "If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do."

"That's...that's not bad," said Max. "Did you come up with that?"

Taylor shook her head. "It's from the series  _Angel_. The spinoff to Buffy. Spoiler alert...the character of Angel leaves the original show after the third season to be in his own show. It's pretty good."

"I'll have to check that out sometime."

A minute later, Taylor released Max's hand and maneuvered herself back to an upright position, floating back to the edge of the pool. Max followed suit, and they soon were both resting their arms on the edge, looking at each other.

Taylor smiled. "Listen to us trying to be philosophical. This whole conversation sounds kinda pretentious, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it really does." They both laughed. "Nothing to bond two people together like having existential crises at the same time, I guess."

Taylor lifted one of her arms off the edge and placed it across Max's bare shoulders; Max in turn inched in closer to settle into the embrace.

"Max..." said Taylor. "I just want you to know...I am really grateful you stayed tonight. The past day has been the best I have had in a long time."

"Me too," said Max. "I know I didn't show it at the time, but I was actually thrilled when you asked...I guess I hadn't asked you myself because I didn't want to impose."

"Believe me, it would not have been an imposition," said Taylor.

They were looking into each other's eyes now, their faces only inches apart. Max once again felt her heart racing, her skin tingling, her cheeks flushing.

"Taylor, I..." whispered Max as their faces crept even closer to one another.

She did not get to finish, as right at that moment, blinking blue lights appeared between the wooden slats of the fence, breaking the trance.

"Oh shit, it's the cops!" whispered Taylor. "We've got to get out of here  _now_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Max and Taylor be able get out of this one? Stay tuned to find out, and as always, thanks for reading!


	7. Naked Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Taylor's dare, Max and Taylor find themselves having to evade the law while in an embarrassing state of undress. But the most unexpected part of the night is yet to come, as their true feelings for one another begin to emerge...

Immediately after climbing hurriedly out of the pool, the two women heard a car door open then slam shut not far away.

"Hello? Is someone in there?" said a voice—a man from what they could tell—that was too close for comfort; thankfully it was on the other side of the fence at the deep end, leaving the gate still unguarded. A bright light started appearing between the slats of the fence, moving back and forth; the man was carrying a flashlight.

Max and Taylor had no time to put any of their clothes on, and had to carry them as they crept over to the gate. Opening it quietly, Taylor went through and looked around, then gestured for Max to follow. As soon as both of them were outside, she turned and put the padlock back in place and locked it. In her hurry, she caused the gate to rattle a little too loudly.

"What was that? Who's there?!" The flashlight beam now moved quickly, and Max realized that the officer was coming around the side toward them; looking around frantically, she saw that there was no place to hide that they'd be able to get to in time. The nearest cars in the direction of Taylor's apartment were too far away. There were a few, much closer vehicles the other way; unfortunately, heading that way would take them directly across the path that the officer was now heading down. Max quickly thought up a plan.

Max pointed in the direction of Taylor's apartment. "Head that way," she whispered. "I'll distract him."

"Max!" hissed Taylor.

"No time to argue! Just trust me!"

Taylor nodded and took off. The officer's flashlight was starting to round the corner now. Taking a deep breath and gathering her clothes in one hand, Max ran directly through the flashlight beam.

"What the—?" said the officer, who, as it turned out, was a large man of around thirty or so; he sported a blond buzz cut and wore the khaki uniform of sheriff's deputy.

"Yoo hoo, Mr. Officer, over here!" said Max, sprinting to the nearest vehicle, a large van.

"Hey, I saw you! Show yourself!"

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" taunted Max as she went behind the van. She saw the flashlight beam jerking up and down along the pavement as the deputy sprinted after her. She gathered her clothes under one arm—so as to not lose them in the rewind—and held out her other hand in anticipation.

The sheriff's large blond head appeared around the corner of the van; Max had to look away as he shined his flashlight in her face. "Gotcha, you little..." His words went forever unfinished as Max activated her rewind ability.

Max stopped rewinding and looked out from behind the van, and watched events unfold that she had previously experienced from a different angle. She could now see the deputy approaching the pool from the back side. She saw the gate to the pool open; as before, the naked Taylor stepped out and looked around. She looked behind her to gesture to Max as before, then started looking around frantically, because of course Max was no longer behind her. Max moved out slightly from behind the van—carefully staying out of the deputy's line of sight—and waved to her to get her attention. Taylor spotted her, giving her a shocked look. Max pointed at Taylor, then gestured emphatically in the direction of Taylor's apartment. To confirm what Max said, Taylor pointed at herself then in the direction of the apartment, showing that she understood she was supposed to head that way. Max nodded, and Taylor once again put the lock on the gate, once again causing it to rattle.

"What was that? Who's there?!" said the deputy once again.

Taylor briefly froze at the deputy's words before sprinting off in the direction Max had indicated, away from the van which Max was hiding behind. Max saw the deputy come around the corner, walking up the side of the pool fence. He waved his flashlight around, and, while Max couldn't see the other side of him, she guessed he had his hand on his gun as well. Taylor was clearly not going to make it to the distant cars before the deputy turned the next corner and saw her.

Max reached up with both hands and struck the side of the van with her palms as hard she could over and over. It was enough to make the deputy whirl in her direction.

"What the...? Who's hiding behind there? Show yourself!" As before, the deputy jogged in the direction of where Max hid, Max got down low to the ground and looked under the van, watching the deputy's feet as they approached. Sure enough, they slowed and started coming around the van; Max could see them on the opposite side.

Gathering her clothes, she sprinted away from the van as fast as possible in Taylor's direction.

"Hey! I see you! Get back here!" Max may have had a head start, but the deputy was sprinting after her now and slowly catching up. Under more normal cirumstances she might have been faster and more agile, being much smaller and thinner than he was, but he wasn't the one running naked and barefoot in the cold while carrying a bundle of clothes under one arm. She only had to make it so far...

When she reached a point where she thought she would be able to hide after the next rewind, she turned to face the deputy and held out her hand.

She rewound when he was less than ten feet from her; she wasn't certain, but it looked like he had been lowering his hand to his weapon. Max had to time the rewind just right. As she watched, he sprinted backwards, then went backwards around the van, then back some more...

She stopped.

"What the...? Who's hiding behind the van? Show yourself!" she heard the deputy say once again. She smiled. She had timed it perfectly, having landed it at the point right after he had heard her smacking the side of the van after the first rewind, and further after she had told Taylor to head this direction. He had now not seen either of them and should be be sufficiently distracted for now.

"Max! Over here!" Max looked in the direction of the whisper; Taylor—who now wore two more articles of clothing than Max, having managed to put on her bra and boyshorts—was gesturing to her from between two cars parked in adjacent spots; Max sprinted over and settled in beside Taylor. Her teeth were now chattering; it didn't help that she was resting her bare backside on the cold pavement.

"I don't know what you did, Max, but it was awesome!"

"Okay," said Max a moment later after they had scrambled to finish putting on their clothes. "I'll take a peek and see if he's still out there, and then you..." She trailed off when she realized Taylor was staring at something behind Max, toward the sidewalk; the blonde's mouth and eyes both wide open. Max turned to look, and gasped.

On the sidewalk, staring at them between the cars through horn-rimmed glasses, was a skinny, elderly, African-American man with short, white hair and an equally short, white beard. He was dressed in a faded gray robe, out from under which peeked blue slippers. His right hand leaned on a wooden cane, and his left now reached up and removed the cigarette protruding protruded from his lips.

"Evening, Ms. Christensen." He had a deep, gravelly voice, indicative of someone who had smoked for much of their life. "Might I ask what you and your friend're up to?"

"Shhh!" Max held a finger to her lips.

If looks could kill, the old man's glare would have incinerated Max. "Don't you shush me, young lady, who do you think y—!"

"Hello? Is someone there?" The deputy's booming voice interrupted the old man, causing him to look in the direction of the swimming pool. Max's heart sank.

"Oh shit, Max, he's headed down this way! Tommy, be quiet... _please._ " whispered Taylor frantically.

The old man glanced back at the two women, one eyebrow raised, as Max and Taylor beggingly shook their heads at him.

Rolling his eyes, the old man sighed. "You two stay here. I'll handle this." Placing his cigarette back in his mouth, he hobbled on his cane in the direction of the swimming pool.

"You know this guy?" whispered Max, gesturing toward the old man.

"Remember when I told you about Tommy, the apartment manager?" replied Taylor. "That's him!"

" _Clint!_  What the fuck are you doing?!" they heard Tommy shout a short while later.

Carefully, slowly, Max got down on all fours and peered under the car to see what was going on.

"Evening, Tommy," said the deputy, whose name Max surmised was Clint. "I got a call from a resident here; said he was out drinking on his porch and thought he heard noise coming from the swimming pool."

"The only noise around here right now is coming from  _you!_ "

"Just doing my job, Tommy. I'm responding to an emergency call like any deputy would."

"Don't give me that shit, Clint, I know you're responding to another personal call from your idiot brother."

"Ray called and told you?!"

"No, you told me. Just now."

"...Goddammit."

"If Ray actually saw something worth any real concern, he'd call 911 like sane people do. It's my job as manager to get people to want to stay in these apartments, and I can't do that job when police lights and sirens are blasting throughout the complex  _every fucking night!_ "

"Jesus, you're aggressive tonight, old man!" said the deputy. "Did you get up on the wrong side of bed?"

"Don't you 'old man' me! It's one o-fucking-clock in the morning, Clint!  _Every_  fucking side of bed is the wrong fucking side right now!"

"If you really should know," said the deputy, "I heard noise too when I arrived."

"Like what?"

"I heard the gate to the swimming pool rattle, and then I heard a noise from a nearby van...a slapping noise it sounded like."

Tommy scoffed. "But you didn't actually see anything? Don't you have meth dealers to chase down or something, Clint?"

"...I guess I didn't see anything. Nothing around the van. I thought I saw something in the pool through the fence when I first got here, but not when I looked later," said the deputy. "Look...I saw that the padlock was in place on the swimming pool. Does anyone else have access to it at night?"

"No, sir, there is only one copy of the key, and it was hanging in my office earlier when I locked it up for the night."

"Well, does anyone else have access to your office?"

"Just my wife, and she was in bed next to me when I got woken up by your shouting. And before you ask, the office is wired up with a burglar alarm that only she and I know how to disarm, so I think we would know if someone had broken in."

The deputy sighed. "Guess I'll tell Ray I investigated and didn't find anything. Sorry to wake you, Tommy."

"...It's fine," said Tommy, now in a calmer tone. "Just please tell him to quit running to you every time he sees a jaywalker, or hears a dog barking, or whatever it is that happens to be bothering him that night, or I will have his worthless ass thrown out of here, lease agreement or no lease agreement!"

The deputy turned and headed back around the swimming pool to his car. Tommy dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his slipper. Max and Taylor exhaled sighs of relief.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that," said Tommy a moment later as he arrived back at Max and Taylor's hiding spot. He raised an eyebrow at them. "That stuff he said about someone sneaking into the pool...you ladies wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

The two women shook their heads at him, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

"Nope!" said Max.

"Not a thing!" said Taylor.

"Uh huh," replied Tommy, eyebrow still cocked. "Well, just to be on the safe side, I'll change the padlock tomorrow. I personally wouldn't give a shit, but I don't want the property owner crawling up my ass about it. Taylor?"

The blonde perked up at the mention of her name. "Yes?"

"There's a tenant moving out at the end of this month...Sunday after next. You available that day for cleaning?"

"Umm, I think so, but I'll double-check my schedule and get back to you."

"You do that. Good night, ladies. Get on home now, you hear?" Turning away, the old man hobbled off.

As they walked back to the apartment, Max turned to Taylor. "You know, I don't think Tommy believed us when we said we hadn't been the pool."

"It probably doesn't help that you put your bra on outside your shirt."

"...What?" Max looked down and, once again, blushed. "Oh my God."

* * *

"I have to say," said Max, "I did not expect this night to go as it has." She and Taylor once again rested on the latter's couch. They had both showered and changed into their sleep clothes; Max in her t-shirt and shorts, Taylor in her nightshirt. Taylor had her legs propped up across Max's lap as they finished the remainder of the beer they had left on the coffee table earlier.

Taylor grinned. "Hey, it ain't a good time until you're running bare-ass naked from the cops!"

Max giggled. "Guess there's a first time for everything. Kinda hard to top that, so I'd say that's a good point to end our game of Truth or Dare for tonight...but I get to give you the next dare. In the meantime, I just need to decide on what that dare's going to be."

Taylor held up her beer as if giving a toast. "Sounds good to me. Seriously though, that stuff you told me about how you used your powers to distract the deputy...that's some pretty badass shit."

Max smiled, tilted her head back and finished off her beer, and set the bottle on the table. "You've got some interesting people living around here. After what I saw of Tommy tonight, I'm not sure whether I think he's awesome or terrifying."

"Hell, I've been living here for a while now and I'm  _still_ not sure." She took another sip then frowned. "I have a question for you."

"What's up?"

"So, you know how you told me that you rewound back to just after we saw the blue lights?"

"Yeah."

"Why not a little further?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I know you couldn't jump through the photograph since you left your phone in the apartment, but wouldn't it have been a little easier to rewind back a couple minutes, back to before the cop showed up, and then warn me? So we could make our escape before he even got there, and we wouldn't have had to do the whole stealth mission thing."

"I guess that would have been Plan B."

"Why not Plan A, though? It would have been easier for both of us."

"...I guess I didn't want to erase any of the time, the interaction, we had in the pool..." Max hesitated before adding, "Because I enjoyed every minute of it."

Taylor glanced up. "Really?"

Max shrugged. "Well, yeah. Didn't you?"

Taylor smiled warmly. "I did." Finishing off her beer, Taylor lifted her legs off of Max and sat up. "Well, it's late; we should probably get ready for bed."

"Agreed." Max looked around. "Where'd you put the blankets and pillows from last night?"

"You're not sleeping here tonight."

A hurt look made its way to Max's face. "What...?" She glanced at her luggage resting in the corner of the room then back at Taylor. "You want me to go?"

"What? Of course not, don't be ridiculous. I meant that I'm not going to let you sleep  _here,_ as in here on the couch. I've passed out here enough times to know how uncomfortable it is."

"Then where am I...?"

"With me, silly."

"...Are...are you sure?"

Taylor shrugged. "Yeah. It's a big enough bed. It's comfortable. It was selfish of me to make you sleep out here last night."

"Well...okay then." Max grinned. "I accept."

* * *

After brushing her teeth, Max walked into the living room one last time and plugged her phone into the charger Taylor had provided; if she ran into car troubles again during the two hour drive back to Seattle tomorrow, she was at least going to have a working phone this time. Looking around the living room, she realized that while this might be only her second night here, she already felt sadness at the prospect of leaving. She desperately hoped that she and Taylor would stay in touch.

A moment later, she entered the bedroom. Taylor was sitting up in bed, waiting for her. The overhead light was off, but Max saw Taylor smile at her in the light of the bedside lamp. She scooted over a few inches to make room as Max crawled in next to her. As it was getting cold in the apartment again tonight, Max immediately welcomed the warmth as she pulled the covers over her. As she had the night before, Max felt the bare skin of her leg make contact with that of Taylor's.

"Ready for me to turn out the light?" said Taylor. Max nodded. The blonde turned away and started to reach for the lamp but paused.

Turning back, she leaned over Max. "Good night, sweet Max," she said, gently leaning forward and planting a kiss on the brunette's forehead.

Pulling away slightly, Taylor gazed into Max's eyes, as though she were searching for something. Both of them had slightly parted their lips, and could feel each others' breath on their faces.

"That dare," said Max slowly. "I just decided on it. Taylor, I dare you to...to..."

She did not get to finish the dare before Taylor's lips met her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't reveal much about the next chapter other than to say that it will be the last, and I have already written a rough draft of it. Thanks for reading!


	8. Saying Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Taylor must decide what happens next in their relationship.

It was a chaste kiss, barely more than a brief, soft touching of lips. Taylor pulled back and looked at Max, again with a searching look, as though she needed confirmation. In response, Max reached up and placed her hand on the back of Taylor's head, running it through the blonde hair before gently pulling Taylor's face back down to her own. This kiss lasted far longer. Max decided to take it a step further, and ran her tongue along Taylor's teeth; the blonde understood Max's offer, and opened her mouth further to accept.

Max pulled herself up into a sitting position, and Taylor moved herself onto Max's lap, straddling the brunette so that they were face to face, with one of Taylor's legs resting on either side of Max's body. The blonde then placed her hands on Max's shoulders, and they leaned in close and kissed repeatedly, each kiss seeming more deep than the last.

Max now reached up and gently nudged Taylor's hands (still on her shoulders) downward; Taylor took the hint and moved her hands down onto Max's breasts, so that they were now separated only by the thin fabric of Max's t-shirt. Max shuddered in response to this, and then slowly ran her hands up Taylor's bare legs, eventually reaching the edge of the blonde's nightshirt and continuing onward.

"Hold my legs in place," whispered Taylor. Max did so, and Taylor tugged at her nightshirt, eventually pulling it off and revealing that she was completely naked underneath. Max, in turn, reached up and pull her own t-shirt off, leaving her now only in her shorts. She ran her hands over Taylor's shoulders, back, and ass. Then she leaned down and took one of the the blonde's breasts in her mouth; the blonde gasped, then let out a low moan.

A moment later, Taylor got off of Max's lap and placed her hands on the brunette's ass, pulling it forward; Max fell back, propping herself up on her elbows. Leaning forward, Taylor kissed Max on the mouth, then began kissing her way down Max's neck, chest, and stomach.

The blonde now hooked her fingers inside the waistband of Max's shorts and looked up at Max. They were both breathing too hard at this point to say anything, so Max simply nodded at Taylor, who slowly began pulling Max's shorts off. However, she had only pulled them down far enough to barely expose the top of Max's pubic area before pausing and looking back up at her again.

"...Taylor? Are you alright?"

In response, Taylor let go of Max's shorts and then got off of her and sat up on the side of the bed, putting her feet on the floor. Max tugged her shorts back up and scooted herself so that she was now sitting beside the blonde. "Taylor? What's wrong?"

Taylor looked up at Max, whose heart sank as she saw that tears were streaming down Taylor's cheeks.

"Oh my god, Taylor! I'm sorry, I didn't—I didn't mean to—"

"You didn't do anything wrong," said Taylor. "It's just that...well...I haven't...since Steph..."

"Oh! Well, that's okay...I haven't had much experience myself, and never with another woman—"

"I'm not talking about that...Let me explain." Taylor wiped her face with one hand. "Look, Max, I haven't been entirely up front with you...You're not the first person I've had here. I've had men and women both. Sometimes more than one. College frat boys, sorority girls, newly divorced middle-aged women, silver-haired gentlemen in expensive suits, you name it."

Max frowned.  _Why is she telling me this?_  "Okay...nothing wrong with that, I guess, as long as you were safe and not cheating on anyone, and everyone involved was a consenting adult. Do you regret it?"

Taylor shrugged. "Most of them, I guess not. We both knew the score going in. Others...let's just say there were some who no doubt felt used by me. In retrospect, I could have done a better job of making it clear beforehand that it was only ever going to be a onetime thing."

"Where are you going with this, Taylor?" asked Max; slights hints of anger hung around the edge of her voice. "If you don't want to have sex with me, just fucking say so."

"No!" said Taylor. "I mean, I do want to have sex with you; believe me, I do, but—"

"So what then?" interrupted Max, her voice increasing in volume. "You're admitting that you're using me? That this whole thing, whatever this is—" She gestured between herself and Taylor. "It's over once I walk out the door tomorrow?!"

"Will you please just let me fucking finish!"

A stunned silence followed; then Max spoke, now in a more restrained matter. "Fine. Please continue."

"What I'm trying to say," said Taylor, "is the opposite—I don't want to use you, or hurt you. I realized something." She looked Max in the eyes. "I haven't felt this way about someone...well, since Steph."

Max's expression softened. "You mean...?"

"I think...I might be falling in love with you, Max. And that scares me. So my first question is...do you...feel the same way?"

Max looked down at the floor, stunned. "I...don't know...I hadn't really given it much thought before tonight..." Another moment of silence followed, then she looked up again at Taylor. "But yeah, I think I might feel the same way."

Taylor nodded. "So we're on the same page, I guess. Here's the thing though...as much as I really want to do this—and I'd say it's a good bet you do too—I don't think it's a good idea. Not right now."

"Why not?"

"I'm trying to look at this situation from an outsider's perspective here...we knew each other from Blackwell several years ago, and we weren't exactly friends then. Then we met up again, what, two days ago?"

"More like thirty hours," admitted Max. "If that."

"Exactly. And we haven't spent one minute apart that entire time. I'm worried this might be only an infatuation, for either of us, and that taking it any further right now would only make things more complicated and painful if that did turn out to be the case."

Max looked down again and sighed. "That's...actually not a bad point."

"And that's why I think we should, you know, take things a little slower. I know you have to go back to Seattle tomorrow, and I think some time apart would help us figure out whether this is real or not. So what do you say we just call it a night and go to sleep?"

Max smiled. "Okay." They gave each other one more brief kiss, then got back under the covers. They fell asleep in each others' arms.

* * *

The next morning, Max woke up first. She nearly panicked when she realized someone's arm was draped across her before remembering where she was. Slowly, she eased out from under Taylor's arm, being careful not to wake her in the process. As she got up, she hugged herself to shield from the cold, then she looked down and realized she was still only wearing her shorts. Looking around, she found her t-shirt crumpled on the floor (not far from where Taylor's nightshirt lay as well) and put it on. She carefully closed the bedroom door behind her.

In the kitchen, she got some coffee brewing, and then searched through the cabinets and refrigerator, eventually deciding to make toast and scrambled eggs; while her culinary skills left something to be desired, it should at least be edible. Taylor didn't have that many dishes, and most of what she did have was piled in the sink, so Max ended up putting all the eggs and toast on one plate and the coffee in a large mug. At this point, she and Taylor had become intimate enough that sharing dishes shouldn't be a big deal.

Leaving the coffee behind so as to leave one hand free, she carried the plate back to Taylor's room. As she reached for the knob, however, she was surprised when the door opened seemingly on its own.

Taylor stood there, still naked from the night before, with a look of surprise that now gave way to relief.

"Good morning!" said Max cheerfully, glancing down at the blonde's body. "Is it my birthday or something?"

The corner of Taylor's mouth twitched momentarily. "I was afraid you had left. That I would walk into the living room and find all your bags gone."

"What? Of course not. I hope you don't mind, but I rummaged through your kitchen. Thought I'd bring you breakfast in bed. I'm not the best of cooks, but I did manage to only slightly burn the eggs."

Taylor smiled. "That's really sweet of you."

As the blonde put her nightshirt back on, Max set the plate on the bedside table, then went back to the kitchen and retrieved the mug of coffee along with two forks and a stack of napkins. The two women sat up against the headboard next to each other and pulled the covers up to their waists, then traded the plate and coffee back and forth, dividing between them. Max regretted getting bread crumbs on the bed, but Taylor didn't care. It made Max wish that her powers went a little further, that she could freeze all of time and space so that she and Taylor could enjoy this moment for eternity.

Eventually though, it did have to end. They both got up and changed into their clothes. Max put on her jeans and her faded John Doe t-shirt (with a white deer silhouette in place of the word "Doe"), which Taylor recognized from Blackwell. Taylor put on her jeans and flannel shirt, the outfit she planned to wear to work later that day. Then they loaded up Max's luggage into her car, a task which seemed to go as slowly as possible.

Finally, they stood on the sidewalk in front of Taylor's apartment, looking each other intently in the face.

"It's only a couple hours," said Max. "I know it's not as close as we would like..."

"But manageable," said Taylor. "Short enough to spend most of the day with each other at least. And we have each others' phone numbers and email addresses."

Max smiled. "Don't forget to send me your work schedule. We should be able to find time together every so often."

"Yeah. Maybe I could come see you in Seattle."

"You totally should! I could show you around."

"As long as we don't go to the Chase Space."

Max burst out laughing, wiping at her eyes as she did so. "Of course not."

Embracing one another, they kissed one more time. They both wished it could have lasted far longer than it did.

Finally, Max got in her car. After she had pulled out of her space and shifted from Reverse to Drive, she slowed down to wave to Taylor, who waved back as the car continued out of the apartment complex. Then the car reached the road and the two women were no longer in each other's sight.

Max had no words to describe the mix of emotions she felt; it was like equal parts happiness, loneliness, hope, and despair, but even that didn't come close to describing it accurately. In hopes of providing a distraction, she switched on her car's radio, eventually locating an oldies station; as it so happened, the next song on their list was "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Max wasn't certain, but she thought she remembered having heard it before, maybe in a movie she had seen a long time ago.

She was unable to stop herself from crying before she had even gotten onto the highway.

* * *

A little over two hours later, Max carried the last of her luggage through the door of her cramped studio apartment. Then she sat on her single-sized bed—she had opted out of getting a couch due to the space limitations—and looked around.

It was exactly the same as she had left it—her laundry was scattered around the floor (some habits did not die easily), and the dishes were still piled up in the sink of her kitchenette on the opposite side of the room—yet it felt different, like she had been gone forever, and it was no longer home. Worse, it felt even lonelier than it normally did.

 _Maybe moving back in with my parents wouldn't be such a bad thing,_ she thought.  _I know it wouldn't be easy for them, but at least I—_

The thought was interrupted when she heard a ding on her phone—a text.  _Probably my parents checking to see that I made it home okay._ She pulled out the phone out and unlocked it, then opened the texting app.

Max's heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was from Taylor. With both anxiety and anticipation, she opened the text and read it.

And smiled.

* * *

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends my story; I hope you reading it as much I enjoyed writing it. Thanks!


	9. Teaser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stage is set for a new story in Max and Taylor's lives.

The door was already open, but Max still heard two knocks.

“Yeah?” she replied. She sat cross-legged on her bed, browsing through her laptop. She was still wearing the khakis and polo shirt she had worn to work that day at the store.

Ryan Caulfield's bearded face appeared from behind the door.

“Hey, dad,” said Max. “What's up?”

He entered the bedroom, followed immediately by Vanessa, who sat down on the bed next to Max as Ryan pulled out the chair at Max's desk and sat there.

Max looked between the two of them. “Oh shit. What did I do?”

“Language, Maxine,” said Vanessa.

Ryan grinned. “You're not in trouble, honey, don't worry.” He looked to his wife. “You want to tell her or should I?”

Vanessa gestured toward him. “Go ahead. I know how badly you want to.”

His grin widened as he turned back to his daughter. “Max...your mother and I were talking about those trips we used to make to Port Angeles...you remember, right?”

“Port Angeles? It's been a while. Last time we went was before I went to Blackwell, wasn't it? Man, I loved that place.”

“I'm glad to hear you say that, because your mother and I were thinking we could all make a trip together. As your birthday gift.”

Setting the laptop aside, she sat up. “Are you serious?”

Her father nodded. “Yes, we're serious. And, we were thinking...”

He was interrupted as Max wrapped his arms around him.

“I would love to!” she said as she let go of him, then turned and hugged her mother as well. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“There's one more thing,” Vanessa said a moment later when Max had calmed down. “This friend of yours...Taylor? We were hoping you might invite her to join us.”

Max's mouth dropped open.  “R-really?”

“Really,” Vanessa replied. “You've talked about her so much, and you drive two hours to go see her nearly every time you both happen to have a day or two off; clearly the two of you have become best friends the last few months. And Ryan and I would really like to meet her.”

Max looked between her parents again. “Are you sure? I would have thought you'd want this trip to be a family thing...”

“Don't worry about us,” said Ryan, laughing. “I know you'll probably spend most of your time with Taylor if she comes, but we'll have our fair share of time together too. And trust me, your mother and I are fully capable of finding fun things to do on our own as well.”

Max thought for a moment. “Okay then. Don't know if she'll be able to get the time off, but it won't hurt to see. I'm actually going back down there this weekend, so I'll ask her then.”

Ryan and Vanessa gave each other a knowing smile which Max didn't seem to notice. Then they stood.

“We look forward to meeting her, Max,” said Ryan.

 

**To be continued in the sequel fic _Heading North_.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right; as some of you were requesting in the comments a while back, I have finally started writing a sequel, "Heading North", the first chapter of which has already been published! I have put both stories in a series, "The Christenfield Saga". I hope you enjoy the next era of Max and Taylor's relationship as much as you did this one!


End file.
